Importance Events:

(Cyprus Under the Ottoman Empire: Wikipedia) and (Cyprus History: Otoman Period)

Turkish – Venetian War (1570 – 1573) - (Wikipedia/History)
- Cyprus was initially under the rule of the Republic of Venice
  - Venice annexed it in 1498
- Turks had been raiding Cyprus’s coast on and off
- July 2, 1570 - first real fight occurred: Turks sent 60,000 troops to Lissamol
- Nicosia was the first major city in Cyrus to fall (Domino Effect)
  - Nicosia’s fall = Cyprus Massacre
  - Kyrenia fell next (no shots fired because of Massacre)
  - Followed by Famagusta (all key cities of Cyprus)
- The Fall of Famagusta marked the beginning of Turkish Rule in Cyprus
- Cyprus remained under Ottoman rule for three centuries after defeat
Cyprus Massacre (Ottoman rise to power) - (Wikipedia)
- Occurred on September 9, 1570 because of the Turkish – Venetian War
- A massacre of an unknown amount (20,000) of Christians in Cyprus
- Massacre allowed Turks to conquer Kyrenia easily
Ottoman Rule in Cyprus - (Wikipedia/History)
- 1570, the Turks took over Cyprus
- Lala Mustafa Pasha became the first Turk governor in Cyprus
- Original Cyprus inhabitants looked to Europe for help to over thrown the Turks
- Between 1572 and 1668, 28 uprisings to over thrown the Ottoman Empire occurred
  - All failed

Full history of Cyprus, go here!

Importance Of Cyprus in the 16th Century